portraying the ersatz Sebastian, Bynes not only looks, somewhat freakishly and rather convinc- ingly, like a baby-faced young man but also uses her arsenal of facial expressions and her uncanny delivery to full comedic effect.-S.L. (In wide release. ) SIR! NO SIR! The rise of protest against the Vietnam War is more than forty years in the past. This blunt, heartfelt documentary, directed by David Zeiger, revives those passionate days and restores the historical record with his account of widespread opposition to the war from within the u.s. mil- itary itself. Starting with the lonely voices of Donald Duncan, a Green Beret who resigned his commission in 1965, and Howard Levy, a der- matologist who accepted court-martial rather than train other Army doctors, Zeiger presents men and women who braved the stockade or worse to denounce the war from within. Jane Fonda is a character here, as she gives a moving account of her activities on be- half of the soldiers themselves. Along the way, myths are dispelled and dormant out- rage reignited: Zeiger's technique, though conventional, is eloquent, as are the inter- viewees, whose righteous energy burns as brightly now as in the evocative archival footage.-R.B. (IFC Center.) SLITHER It's rednecks versus zombies in James Gunn's delightfully disgusting comic horror film, in which parasites from outer space invade their hosts. Gunn (who wrote the exuberant "Dawn of the Dead" remake) is a true movie nut, with a tongue-in-cheek approach to horror that aspires to "Tremors" and "Rabid" and injects the genre with his own brand of twisty black humor. The film is equally outrageous and sardonic, and the cast, which includes "Firefly'''s great Nathan Fillion, is more than game (literally). Awful fun.-B.D. (In wide release. ) STEAMBOAT BILL. JR. One of the least known of the Buster Kea- ton features, yet it possibly ranks right at the top. It is certainly the most bizarrely Freudian of his adventures, dealing with a tiny son's attempt to prove himself to his huge, burly, rejecting father. Ernest Torrence is the father-a tough Mississippi-steamboat captain, who does not conceal his disgust when Junior (Keaton) arrives to join him, nattily dressed in bell-bottoms, a polka-dot tie, and a beret. When the father is in jail, Keaton tries to hand him a gigantic loaf of bread containing tools for breaking out, but the father doesn't understand what's in it and refuses the bread; Keaton mutters, "My father is ashamed of my baking." The film features a memorable comic cyclone and aD' R ld S . h h . . peerless (and much imitated) sequence in etectzve aro mzt pursues art t zeves zn which Keaton tries on hats and changes per- ''Stolen, " a documentary opening April2i. sonali ty with each, becoming a series of movie stars of the period. Directed by Charles Reisner. Released in 1928. Silent.-Pauline Kael (Thalia Theatre; April 23 and April 25.) THANK YOU FOR SMOKING Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), the chief spokes- man for the tobacco lobby in Washington, is handsome and likable, a mixture of swagger and impudent candor. Nick knows that his argu- ments in favor of smoking are rubbish, but he enjoys the game of spin too much to give it up. This shrewdly entertaining satirical comedy, adapted by Jason Reitman (son of the veteran director Ivan Reitman) from Christopher Buck- ley's 1994 novel, loves the brazen moxie of "sin" lobbyists without being fooled by them. The comic highlight of the movie is the regular lunch sessions that Nick holds with the lobbyists for the alcohol and firearms industries (Maria Bello and David Koechner)-the three of them, boast- Also Playing ing of the lethality of their respective clients, might be doing a recurring skit on "Saturday Night Live." When Nick gets written up by a seductive reporter (Katie Holmes) from the Wash- ington Probe, his life goes into a tailspin. With Cameron Bright as Nick's adoring son, J. K. Sim- mons and Robert Duvall as tobacco executives, Rob Lowe and Adam Brody as glib Hollywood types, and William H. Macy as a sanctimonious anti-smoking senator from Vermont who has a collection of maple-syrup bottles in his office. Jason Reitman's direction is fast-moving and witty; the movie is a winner.-D.D. (4/3/06) (In wide release.) V FOR VENDETTA A dunderheaded pop fantasia that celebrates terrorism and destruction. The graphic-novel creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd conceived the material in the nineteen-eighties during the reign of Margaret Thatcher. Setting their work in 1997, they projected a fascist future for England and a rebel hero-a terrorist in a Guy Fawkes mask who blows up the Parlia- ., ..-""'-'-'.Ir:".' t II' .......'r..I..rlÞr-:.,./.:-./ '/_...I ".) ....,....,, ....-'J".... 'I -- - " L ' .. '4 '.: ); : '.. '. :: : . , . '.' . ;. t , . to: IÞ ! t .. f:: ': '. t. . ,', . " . # . ,f, ; t: .' ... '. '. , 1 .., ., \: r I . .. '. / . I I J r , - ,: - ; 'i \ ' ment buildings and the Prime Minister's resi- dence. The producer, Joel Silver, and the Wa- chowskis, Larry and Andy, grafted references to the current condition of warfare and fear onto this template, lifting details out of Or- well's "1984" and a variety of pop myths. Hugo Weaving is the caped and masked man who kills and blows things up; Natalie Portman is the innocent who becomes his victim and his follower. The movie has some visual life to it, but it's so foolish that you come out shaking your head. Among other things, the ineptitude of "Vendetta" suggests that pop isn't a very good mode for political allegory. With Stephen Rea. Directed by the Wachowski brothers' pro- tégé,James McTeigue.-D.D. (3/20/06) (In wide release. ) BELLE DE JOUR: Paris. KINKY BOOTS: In wide re- lease. PHA T GIRLZ: In wide release. SCARY MOVIE 4: In wide release. TAKE THE LEAD: In wide re- lease. THE WILD: In wide release. 42 THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 24, 2006 R.EVIVALS, CLASSICS, ETC. Titles with a dagger are reviewed above. ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES 32 Second Ave., at 2nd St. (212-505-5181)-"New- Filmmakers Presents." April 19 at 6: Short films about dance. + April 19 at 7: "Road Map War- rior Women" (2000, Jen Senko) and "Censorious" (2005, Carol Jackson). + April 19 at 8: Short films and live performances by Amy Greenfield and Andrea Beeman. + The films of BB Optics. April 19 at 8: Short films by Martha Colburn, Bruce Nauman, and Bradley Eros (1972-2002) and other works, including J.F.K.-assassination reënact- ments shot for the Warren Commission (c. 1963- 1964). + April 25 at 8: Short films by Rob- ert Huot, Katy Martin, Tony Conrad, and Peter Herwitz (1968-93). + "Starring Tay- lor Mead." April 20 at 7:30 and April 23 at 6: "The Flower Thief" (1960, Ron Rice). + April 21 at 8: Short films by Anton Perich (1972- 73), program one. + April 22 at 8: Short films by Perich (1972-73), program two. . April 23 at 8: "The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man" (1963/82, Rice). + "The Onion Pre- sents." April 20 at 8: "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" (1974, Sam Peckinpah). + Rare films by Jacques Rivette. April 21-23 at 7: "Out 1: Spectre" (1971-72; in French). + April 22-23 at 5: "Jean Renoir: Le Patron," part three (1966; in French). + "Storefront Films." April 25 at 7:30: "Ciudad Moderna" (2004, Terence Gower) and "The Madness of Rock 'n' Roll" (1956, Fernando Méndez; in Spanish, no subtitles). BAM ROSE CINEMAS 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn (718-636-4100)- "Cinema Tropical." April 19 at 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15: "Toro Negro (Black Bull)" (2005, Pedro González Rubio and Carlos Armella; in Spanish).. "Cinemachat with Elliott Stein." April 20 at 4:30 and 7: "The Offence" (1972, Sidney Lumet). The 7 P.M. show will be ........... followed by a discussion with Lumet and Stein. + Through April 26: "Village Voice Best of 2005." April 21 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, and 9:30: "Café Lumière" (t). . April 22 at 7: "Three Times" (2005, Hou Hsiao-Hsien; in Mandarin and Taiwanese). + April 23 at 3, 6, and 9: "Princess Raccoon" (2005, Seijun Suzuki; in Japanese). + "It Happened in Brooklyn." April 24 at 4:30,6:50, and 9:15: "It Happened in Brooklyn" (1947, Richard Whorf). The 6:50 show will be introduced by John Manbeck and Pete Hamill. + "Shel- ley Winters vs. the Water." April 25 at 4:30 and 9: "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972, Ronald Neame). FILM FORUM W. Houston St. west of Sixth Ave. (212-727- 8110)-ln revival. April 19-20 at 1:20,3:15, 5:10, 7:05, and 9: "Days of Heaven" (1978, Terrence Malick). + April 21-25 at 1:10, 3:15, 5:30, 7:35, and 9:40: "Repulsion" (1965, Roman Polanski). FLORENCE GOULD HALL 55 E. 59th St. (212-355-6160)- The films of Chan- tal Akerman. April 25 at 12:30 and 6:30: "News from Home" (1977; in French). + April 25 at 3:30 and 9: "Tomorrow We Move" (2004; in French). IFC CENTER 323 Sixth Ave., at W. 3rd St. (212-924-7771)-ln revival. April 21-22 at noon: "High and Low" (1963, Akira Kurosawa; in Japanese). + "Waverly Midnights." April 21-22: "Black Caesar" (1973, Larry Cohen). MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Roy and Niuta Titus Theatres, 11 W. 53rd St. (212- 708-9480)-"Asian Cinevisions." April 19 at 6 and April 22 at 4: "Of Love and Eggs" (2004, Garin Nugroho; in Bahasa Indonesian). + Through April 30: "Baseball and American Culture." April 19 at 6: "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings" (1976, John Badham). + April 21 at 8:30: V5 "The Natural" (1984, Barry Levinson). + April 23